Ernst-Robert Grawitz was a high-ranking Nazi physician, head of the German Red Cross during World War II, and one of the key figures in Nazi Germany's medical and euthanasia programs. Despite his role in an organization typically associated with humanitarianism, Grawitz was deeply complicit in some of the regime’s darkest crimes. As Berlin fell to Allied forces in April 1945, Grawitz chose to avoid capture—not just by taking his own life, but by killing his wife and children with grenades in a chilling act of despair and loyalty to a lost cause.
From Physician to Nazi Loyalist
Born in 1899, Grawitz rose through the medical ranks in Germany during the 1930s. A staunch supporter of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, he became deeply involved in the racial hygiene and eugenics policies of the Third Reich. In 1935, he was appointed Reich Physician SS and Police, placing him at the top of the Nazi medical hierarchy alongside figures like Heinrich Himmler and Karl Brandt.
As president of the German Red Cross, Grawitz oversaw an organization that was transformed from a humanitarian group into a vehicle for Nazi ideology. Under his leadership, the Red Cross ignored or actively participated in the regime’s atrocities, including the T4 “euthanasia” program—where tens of thousands of mentally ill and disabled people were murdered under the guise of mercy.
Ties to Nazi Medical Crimes
Grawitz was directly involved in approving and facilitating human medical experiments on concentration camp prisoners, especially at Ravensbrück and Sachsenhausen. Victims were subjected to deliberately induced infections, forced sterilizations, and other torturous procedures under the justification of military or racial science.
While Grawitz was not as publicly infamous as some of his colleagues, such as Josef Mengele, he held enormous power behind the scenes—ensuring the Nazi medical machine ran efficiently and obediently.
The Fall of Berlin and the Grenade Suicide
As the Soviet Red Army closed in on Berlin in April 1945, the Nazi leadership began to collapse. Hitler had taken refuge in his underground Führerbunker, and many high-ranking officials faced a stark choice: surrender or suicide.
On April 24, 1945, Grawitz reportedly requested permission from Hitler to leave Berlin with his family. The request was denied. Knowing that Soviet troops were likely to capture him and aware of the consequences of his actions during the war, Grawitz took drastic measures.
Rather than face justice or public humiliation, he used hand grenades to kill himself, his wife, and his children in their Berlin home. The act was both a final declaration of loyalty to the Nazi cause and an attempt to erase the shame he knew would come to light.